People: Actors on double bill in Manhattan courts

Alec Baldwin and Shia LaBeouf never ended up sharing a Broadway stage as planned last year, but real-life dramatics landed both of them Thursday in a distinctly less celebrated venue: Manhattan criminal courts.

Both stars appeared in courtrooms a few blocks apart for separate disorderly conduct cases. LaBeouf is charged with disrupting a Broadway performance, while Baldwin is accused of getting belligerent with police who said they stopped him for riding a bicycle the wrong way down a one-way street.

Their shared court date was just a coincidence, but it paired stars who have become known for acting up, not just for acting.

“Looks like you have a short fuse,” Manhattan Criminal Court Judge John DeLury told Baldwin. After Baldwin repeatedly said he’d pay a fine for the May 13 encounter – though the judge said he was just asking for an apology – DeLury put the case on track to be dismissed if the actor avoids another arrest for six months.

Meanwhile, LaBeouf’s lawyer and prosecutors said they were trying to resolve his case. He’s accused in court papers of playing a boorish role in the audience at “Cabaret” last month, smoking cigarettes, yelling at the actors onstage, and swearing at security guards and hollering as he was escorted out: “Do you know who I am?”

The actor, whose publicist has said the episode stemmed from an alcohol problem and that LaBeouf has since gotten treatment, stood solemnly before a judge during the brief appearance. He and his lawyer, G. Robert Gage, declined to comment as they left court. LaBeouf is due back in court in September.

Bridges recalls battle to make ‘Giver’

Jeff Bridges keeps on giving at Comic-Con.

The Academy Award-winning actor, producer, director and musician was on hand Thursday with some of his fellow cast members to show off footage from “The Giver,” the upcoming adaptation of the popular young adult novel by Lois Lowry.

An extended trailer shown at the pop-culture convention began with black-and-white footage chronicling the dystopian setting of the book.

Bridges, known for “Tron” and “The Big Lebowski,” said it took close to 19 years to bring the movie to life. He originally envisioned that his late father Lloyd Bridges would play the titular role, but Bridges ultimately cast himself as The Giver.

“It proved to be difficult, I think because it was quite controversial,” Bridges told the crowd in reference to his struggle to make the film.

Lowry, 77, noted that the book, which was originally released in 1993, caused a stir because there are scenes where a baby is killed and a young boy bathes an elderly woman, the latter of which won’t be in the movie when it’s released Aug. 11.